PAUL and Karen Howard will never forget the 1991 Open at Royal Birkdale.

The couple decided early on to let their home out during the tournament – only to discover soon after that Karen was pregnant, with their second child due just days before the action teed off.

So, while Australian contender Brett Ogle and his wife spent The Open at the Howards’ then home in Russell Avenue, High Park, Paul and Karen awaited the arrival of their son, Jonathan, in a caravan in Scarisbrick.

Paul was also working long hours as the head porter at the Prince of Wales Hotel, which as the headquarters of the R&A was where many of golf’s top pros were staying.

He recalled: “All the week of The Open we expected Karen to have our baby any day – but there was no sign of it coming.

“We finally moved back in to our house the day after The Open with Karen now 10 days overdue.

“The next day she went into the Christiana Hartley maternity hospital and the morning after our son Jonathan was born.”

Another feature of Paul and Karen’s drama was returning to find the kitchen window of their house cracked, and a note of apology from Ogle’s wife.

The reason for the damage – which was paid for via the player’s management company – remained unexplained.

“He was doing quite well, he was in quite a good position but faded in the last two days,” said Paul.

Today, the Howards live in Baytree Close, Crossens.

Paul, 50, is employed by HM Customs & Revenue in Preston while Karen works at the Spinal Unit at Southport & Formby District General Hospital.

They have a daughter, 19-year-old Charlotte, while Jonathan is now 16 and studies IT at Southport College as well as working part-time for Caterforce.

One lasting legacy of Paul’s time working at the Prince of Wales is the signatures of stars including Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus he collected at the 1991 Open, which are featured on the mirror on the wall of the hotel bar.